Al Crespo of Crespogram Report is mad as hell and he’s not taking it one minute longer.
Disgusted with the unethical antics of the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, he filed a formal complaint with (HUH?) the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. Good luck with that, Al.
Having personally dealt with this bogus Commission over the years, I know how frustrating it can be to get the agency charged with governing ethical behavior by public officials to actually find probable cause for unethical actions by public officials. Contrary to popular belief, the Commission on Ethics (COE) doesn’t really give a crap about ethics as long as it gets to host seminars for elected and wannabe elected officials for the purpose of handing out colorful brochures about ethics between the salad and the main course, dispelling for once and for all the nasty rumor that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
The biggest problems the COE deals with are those pesky complaints filed by citizens who actually believe that there are consequences when politicians behave badly. In case you’re ever interested in filing one, replete with exhibit after exhibit displaying actual proof that a public official has crossed over to the dark side, just remember to include a self-addressed envelope so the Ethics Commission doesn’t have to waste time digging through the mountain of paperwork you painstakingly assembled and stapled to look for your mailing address when they send you your pre-printed No Probable Cause letter. It’s also much appreciated if your envelope is stamped.
In the extremely rare event that your dirty politician actually does get busted for something, as was the case of North Miami Beach EX-mayor Myron Rosner’s arrest for multiple felonies, be assured that COE Executive Director Joe Centorino will take all the credit, regardless of whether or not the Commission found probable cause. In fact, I bypassed the local COE altogether in favor of filing a Complaint with the Florida Elections Commission after several email exchanges with then State Attorney Let ‘Em Go Joe led to a strong indication that I was wasting my time dealing with him.
Once Myron was finally busted and the arrest made local headlines, Joe gave a press release, which I reported in Myron’s Big (House) Adventure, stating, “I am proud of the work our investigators put into this case. It involved a lot of painstaking research and legwork to assemble the pieces necessary to prove it up, and that would not have occurred without teamwork among the three offices involved.”
I responded in my column with, “Oh, really, Joe? The Gadfly had nothing to do with it? SERIOUSLY? If it weren’t for MY “painstaking research and legwork” this case, which you didn’t want to deal with in the first place when you were a State Attorney, WOULD NEVER HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT OF DAY! A little credit where it’s due, Joe. Dude, that was so uncool.”
In the end, Joe Cool was just that because my calling him out on his duplicity didn’t even get a response. Joe didn’t so much as blink.
The only formal complaint I filed with the COE against Myron, regarding his allegedly selling his Appeals Board vote for campaign bucks, ended with a No Probable Cause letter in my mailbox. I chalked up that epic fail to Miami-Dade County Politics: Business as Usual. Ho hum.
Now Al Crespo is going to try his hand at getting the fox to guard the hen house by filing a formal Complaint against Joe with his own Commission, the irony of which, however futile the endeavor, is a beautiful thing.
Go read all about it on Al’s latest blog, JOE CENTORINO: ABUSE OF POWER, MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS, where he so eloquently stated the obvious, “Contrary to their self-managed public image of public probity, this agency has always been stacked with folks considered safe and dependable political hacks, that was operated as little more than a front to protect powerful politicians while occasionally sacrificing some moron or crook who was either too stupid, or not considered part of the local power structure as a way to lull a gullible and unsuspecting public into believing that ethics and public trust were values that were protected and practiced in this community.”
Knowing that to be the unvarnished truth, I sincerely hope Al included with his Complaint form a self-addressed, stamped envelope so he can quickly receive his No Probable Cause letter that is most certainly already, like the proverbial check, in the mail.
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
I enjoyed the writing on this post!
I do love that he filed a complaint with the same agency he has issue with. Someone should get that to Jon Stewart or the political comedy (or no so funny) lot!
He has a right to be upset. We all have a right to be upset.
Who is to police people like this? Why is it that there is NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO accountability with our Dade County Government? So tell me this: Who is Mr. Crespo to turn to now? I swear I wish I had a million dollars. I would finance every damn lawsuit against every violation that the bloggers point out. This is yet another travesty plain and simple.
You’re exactly right. There is absolutely no accountability here whatsoever. Of all the complaints I have filed, only TWO have been deemed to be legally sufficient for further investigation. And, believe me, I’ve filed at least a dozen against local officials and candidates. Campaign violations in municipal elections are rarely enforced by the state agencies because they claim they can’t enforce local ordinances. Unless there is a violation of a state law, the Florida Elections Commission can’t be bothered. Locally, there is almost no help, either. It’s already been established that the COE is blind to almost everything, and the State Attorney picks and chooses which elected official she prosecutes depending on whether or not she’ll need that politician’s constituency’s voters to get her re-elected. Saddest of all is that so few citizens really get involved in their government, nor do they care if their elected officials are ethical as long as their garbage is picked up.